[SBU Board] Sweetheart Sectional Postmortem notes

Sat Mar 4 12:04:37 PST 2017

We can discuss/review briefly at the board meeting, but I'm sending out in
advance for anyone not attending.  I highlighted key items that the board
should weigh in on and possibly vote on during the meeting, since this is
long. Also, I incorporated Jenni's feedback into my notes below.  I pretty
much agree with everything she mentioned, but I tried to make clear what
was hers vs. mine.

I am planning to do a post-sectional survey to all the players that
attended to ask for general feedback and to possibly ask a few specific
questions for this event.  If you have things you'd like me to ask, let me
know.

======================

Pre-event:

   - Planning - we needed more bridgemates than planned for this. Unsure of
   details of what happened here.
   - Boards need to be made for 1-36. Remind Sharon and Nick when boards
   are being duplicated.
   - Print signs for the fee schedule and post them prominently - it'll
   save a lot of repeating info to those buying
   - Chairs should write up and print out announcements for them and for
   the directors (they can always be edited onsite) - see announcements section

Setup:

   - Entry-buying table would be better off near the entrance to the
site.  (Suggest
   we set up two entry-buying tables near the front, in the nooks between the
   doors. When there's a rush, there can be separate tables per event/strat.)
   When lines formed on Saturday, it was tough to get to the nearby tables,
   and we had spills happen because tables got knocked.
   - The offset nook where partnership, entries, and the loading dock are
   should be used for additional tables for May.  We had to set up one
   extra table during this event; I expect May will be as big, if not bigger,
   so we'll need that space for more gaming tables.
   - In addition to taking pictures of the initial setup that we will need
   to reset to, note how many tables, chairs, rows, etc.

Announcements:

   - Remember to turn on all the volume switches for announcements.  After
   that, it's a simple on/off (allow 30s to let the mic warm up).
   - Chair should write up "last round" announcement items to ask the
   directors to include at end of each session - start time of next session,
   start time of next day's session, etc.
   - At end of Saturday 2nd session, ask everyone to please rotate their
   playing table 45 degrees before they leave. It'll save a lot of time on Sat
   evening.

Hospitality:

   - Since we don't have a big sink or kitchen for this site, and we intend
   to keep using this site, I recommend that we plan on buying and bringing
   several gallon jugs of water and refilling those rather than hauling the
   coffee urns back and forth.  Also, we should get a hospitality cart to
   be used throughout the weekend (table height cart) to minimize lifting
   needs/strain.
   - We might be getting to the size point that we should consider hiring
   someone to be a hospitality assistant during sessions. Given minimum wage,
   I'd figure this is around $100-$125 per day, but coffee runs out
   mid-session, snacks need to be restocked, areas need to be picked up and
   cleaned up, wiped down, tidied…I imagine we could keep a person busy.  The
   only question is if we're willing to make this investment/risk.  I do
   not think it's the right thing to do to get volunteers to sit out sessions
   to make this happen.

Event times/timing:

   - I heard lots of good feedback on the start times (though this is
   self-fulfilling).  The only negative I heard was that Friday night's
   session goes late and then Sat AM starts early the next morning.  (This was
   toughest on the folks having to close down on Friday evening.)
   - *Jenni noted (and I agree) that we should shift to a shorter Swiss on
   Sunday. We both heard complaints about 56 boards being used, that it was
   "too much bridge" and "too long of a day."  *I intend to ask about this
   in a post-event survey to get data, but while I know some A players like 56
   boards, it does not work well to have A on a different timing than everyone
   else, for carpooling and noise levels.  And many A as well as BCD
   players do not prefer that many boards.
   - Jenni noted (and I agree) that 1hr15 was too long for a lunch on
   Sunday at this location. There's plenty of nearby fast food.  I know my
   group dawdled a bit (so I could do things), then drove 1.5mi away, ate
   lunch, and then had plenty of time to go shopping and have a brief walk
   while still arriving in plenty of time to play.
      - For Forest Ridge, we will either need to provide the extra time or
      just recommend everyone bring a sack lunch.  It is much slower to get
      in and out of that site, and we don't want bridge players
speeding through
      that neighborhood or parking illegally to make it back.

Event formats:

   - The 0-750 was a big hit. I think it drove the additional attendance we
   got. Likewise, there was appreciation for the 0-2500.  A daylight timed
   event will get the attendance to have these breakouts, I think.  (Friday
   evening was the only session that we were a little light to have the events
   we had.)
   - *Jenni and I both heard negative feedback about the BAM being the only
   event for open players on Friday evening.*  The turnout for it was also
   lower this year than in previous years, and we both believe that players
   are voting with their feet, which may have led to Friday night's light
   attendance (plus the timing).  At the tournaments committee, we
   discussed this because the survey data indicated that the BAM was the only
   event type we offer that had a negative rating, and the concern with
   offering another open event opposite it is that the BAM won't run in that
   case.  In my opinion, we have enough data between the survey and on-site
   to *remove the Friday night BAM and replace with an open or fast pairs
   (fast because of the Sat AM start time).*  (Note that we offer a BAM on
   the Monday of the KO sectional, so it's not like we won't offer the format
   any more, and we can see after that event if we get similar negative
   feedback or if it was just the Friday night that was troublesome.)
   - *Jenni recommended that when we have a 0-2500, we adjust strata to
   0-3000, 3000-5000, and 5000+ for the Open event.*  (Note that, per our
   voting last year, the board agreed to revise strata based on tournament
   data after each tournament. Tournament data is still pending, but I trust
   Jenni's input here as a tentative agreement.)
   - *Jenni recommended (and I agree) that we should shift to single
   session events, because they pay more MP and players tend to be happier
   with them for scheduling and performance.*  We got several queries
   pre-event about single session entries (which we're required to accept, but
   it's not obvious that's the case when it's a 2-session event…I didn't even
   know that until doing this!). I submitted a summary to the board last month
   about proposing we eliminate 2 session pairs events that I'll bring to the
   3/6 meeting and have attached to this for reference.

Publicity:

   - Pre-event publicity seemed to work fine given attendance. Note that we
   did not have this flyer at the previous sectional due to the site change.
   - Enthusiasm for photos (aside from awards) was mixed.
   - If we do want to keep pushing session winner photos, I would like us
   to get a banner to use as a backdrop for photos, but this is very much a
   "nice to have".  It'd be ~$250, high quality and re-usable (and packs
   down small), and I'd have it printed with our Seattle logo alternating with
   either the ACBL logo or with text for "Seattle Unit 446" or similar.  If
   someone crafty wants to volunteer to make one, I'm all for that, too.
   - Roving photography would be nice to use for publicizing our events,
   but obviously, anyone who volunteered would be playing.
   - I think the big board was nice. Curious for others' thoughts on it.  We
   won't need as many "slots" if we don't post award winners (but we could
   just keep the awards winners displayed all year, which is kind of a cool
   thing…or we could replace with thank yous to volunteers or other things we
   want to publicize)

Equipment notes:

   - *Jenni recommmended we get laminated placards or stands with the
   section letters to show where posted results are.*
   - *Hospitality cart (see hospitality section)*
   - *Tables - we may need more folding tables?*

Teardown:

   - We had good help this year and it took just over an hour to tear down.
   No big feedback items here. I think it went very well.

--
JC Chupack
* Find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, or Twitter: jcchupack
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